Prospects with the potential for college—and NFL—stardom fall through the cracks, and can’t-miss kids do. We look at the 10 biggest diamonds in the rough over the past 10 years.

OT Anthony Castonzo

Class of 2007, Boston College

Tall (6-7) and sinewy, Castonzo opted to play a season at prep school Fork Union Military Academy—not because of academic issues (he had a nearly perfect score on the ACT) but because of a lack of interest from schools. Castonzo had a handful of lower-profile offers after a solid prep season, then grew into his frame, started as a freshman at BC and developed into one of the best offensive linemen in college football by the time he graduated. He was a first-round pick in the 2011 NFL draft.

LB Aaron Curry

Class of 2004, Wake Forest

Curry had two offers: from ECU and Wake Forest. He signed with the Deacons, redshirted as a freshman (under coach Jim Grobe, as most do) and became a starter the following season. A year later, he was one of the best defensive players on the Deacons’ ACC championship team, and he won the Butkus award as a senior. He was selected fourth overall in the 2009 NFL draft.

WR Mardy Gilyard

Class of 2005, Cincinnati

A two-star prospect, Gilyard lost his scholarship for academic reasons after his freshman year and worked four jobs to pay his own tuition. Once former Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly allowed him back on the team, he became the Bearcats’ most dangerous player and a big reason for their back-to-back Big East titles. He left as the leading receiver in school history and was selected in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL draft.

DE Jerry Hughes

Class of 2006, TCU

Hughes arrived at TCU as a two-star tailback few wanted, but he fit coach Gary Patterson’s philosophy of taking the team’s best athletes and finding a spot for them on defense. Patterson moved Hughes to defensive end, then Hughes bulked up and was a dominant force off the edge for three seasons. He was a two-time consensus All-American and a first-round pick in the 2010 NFL draft.

QB Case Keenum

Class of 2006, Houston

Former Houston coach Art Briles was the only coach to offer Keenum—deemed too short (6-2) and too skinny—a scholarship. He signed with the Cougars and got a break when Briles (and a QB recruit named Robert Griffin III) left for Baylor. Keenum stayed put under Kevin Sumlin and set numerous NCAA records, including the all-time passing yardage mark. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Texans this year.

QB Kellen Moore

Class of 2007, Boise State

Moore threw for 67 touchdowns in his high school senior season, but no BCS schools offered a scholarship to a player thought to be too frail and too short (6-0). Now the NCAA’s all-time winningest quarterback, his 142 career passing touchdowns trails only Keenum’s total of 155. In eight years of high school and college, Moore threw an unthinkable 315 touchdown passes—and still went undrafted this year. He signed with the Lions as a free agent.

WR James Rodgers

Class of 2007, Oregon State

A two-star recruit, Rodgers originally committed to then-FCS Texas State but signed with Oregon State after the Beavers became the only FBS school to offer. In four years in Corvallis, he had 2,578 yards receiving, 1,410 rushing and 30 total touchdowns. His 6,377 all-purpose yards set the Oregon State career record. He signed with the Falcons as an undrafted free agent this year.

DE J.J. Watt

Class of 2007, Wisconsin

Consider this path to stardom: Watt committed to Central Michigan, then switched to Minnesota after Chippewas coach Brian Kelly left for Cincinnati. Then Minnesota coach Glen Mason was fired and Watt wound up signing with Central Michigan as a tight end before being asked to move to the offensive line. He left CMU and walked on at Wisconsin, where he moved to defensive end—and put on weight. Over the next two years, he had 36½ tackles for loss and became the best rush end in the Big Ten. He was an NFL first-round draft pick in 2011.

LB Sean Weatherspoon

Class of 2006, Missouri

For years, Missouri struggled to play defense in the offense-heavy Big 12. When the Tigers finally got it right, it was a little-known recruit who led Mizzou to within one game of playing for the BCS national title. How did he get overlooked? Hurricane Rita played a part, displacing his family and confusing recruiters. Missouri stuck with him and Weatherspoon developed into a second-team All-American. He was a first-round NFL draft pick in 2010.

DB Eric Weddle

Class of 2003, Utah

No one illustrates Urban Meyer’s overachieving teams at Utah better than Weddle, overlooked by Pac-10 schools because he was too short (6-0). By the end of his career at Utah, he had 18 career interceptions. He was selected in the second round of the 2007 NFL draft.